The present invention relates to block based video coding schemes and, most particularly, to a method of eliminating artifacts at block boundaries by transposing pixels at block boundaries with pixels from boundaries of neighboring blocks before coding.
Known systems for coding video information advantageously employ transform coding of a plurality of blocks or macro blocks. In such systems, image data often are filtered, broken down into a luminance component and two chrominance components, and organized into blocks of image data. For example, according to the proposed MPEG-4 video standard, image data are organized first into blocks, each containing an 8 pixel by 8 pixel array of data, then into macro blocks including up to four luminance blocks and two chrominance blocks. The blocks of image data are then transform coded from a pixel domain to an array of transform coefficients and scaled by a quantization parameter and transmitted in an output bit stream.
Block-based transform coding is preferred over other known coding schemes, such as wavelet coding, because it is relatively less complex to implement. However, such block-based transform coding causes annoying artifacts in the reconstructed image. Quantization parameters may be established for each block or macro block of image data. Differences in quantization parameters among the various blocks or macro blocks result in distortion at the block boundaries. For instance, in flat image areas, such distortions impose a patchwork effect on reconstructed image data. Similar artifacts appear in image areas having heavy texture, but are less noticeable. Block based coding with variable quantization causes additional artifacts to arise, such as chromo-bleeding, xe2x80x9cmosquito-noisexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cringingxe2x80x9d artifacts.
Prior systems have attempted to ameliorate the effect of such artifacts by low pass filtering reconstructed image data at block boundaries. However, while low pass filtering reduces block artifacts, it also causes blurring of image data. Low pass filtering impairs image quality.
There is a need in the art for an image coder that advantageously employs block-based transform coding and quantization but reduces image artifacts at block boundaries. Further, there is a need in the art for a coding scheme that reduces artifacts without unnecessarily blurring image data.
The disadvantages of the prior art are alleviated to a great extent by an image coding scheme that employs block-based transform coding and quantization. An encoder transposes pixels across block boundaries in a predetermined direction prior to transform coding. For example, alternate pixels along a boundary of a first block may be transposed with adjacent pixels in a diagonal direction of neighboring blocks. After transposition, each reformed block undergoes transform coding and quantization.
A decoder performs reverse operations of those employed by the encoder. Each coded block is dequantized and coded by an inverse transform to reconstruct blocks of pixel information. At the conclusion of the inverse transform, pixels that were subject to transposition are returned to the neighboring blocks from which they originated. After transposition, each block may be processed further for display.
The pixel transposition reduces image artifacts at block boundaries and improves image quality, particularly in flat image areas. By including cross border pixels in the transform coding and quantization, the transform coding and quantization are performed with greater uniformity on image data.